What opportunities do you offer your donors and community
members to give to your United Way? Most United Ways have a workplace campaign,
a Web page for people to give online, and offer affinity/peer groups. But, if
you’re like most United Ways, your affinity/peer groups have a high minimum
dollar amount to participate and aren’t necessarily focused on an issue.

What if you offered a group that was tailored to a specific
demographic, whose goal was to raise money for specific causes in the community,
and only required four donations of $100 per year?

Women Who Care of Kalamazoo County
is a new group in Kalamazoo, Michigan (where our office is located), which is
specifically tailored to women who want to get together with peers and make a
difference in their community. But, what is so awesome about this group is that
members don’t have to donate thousands of dollars to join, yet the group is
still making a huge impact in the community.

Over 100 women showed up at the first gathering a few weeks
ago, promising to donate $100 four times in the coming year. They gathered at a
local restaurant and were invited to nominate and speak on behalf of a local
nonprofit. The women were then asked to vote on which nonprofit they would like
to select as their first recipient. A winner was selected to receive all of the
donations, totaling $14,200.

This group is so inspiring and we hope your United Way is
inspired to create a similar group. People love to get together with their
friends and peers, as well as give back to the community. What better way for
your United Way to raise money than to invite a group of peers to get together
a few times throughout the year to raise money for a specific issue in your
community?

We encourage your United Way to start a group that is not
only focused on a specific demographic, but that is focused on a specific issue, as well. People want to support
an issue that they can make an impact on in their community. Whether you start
a group for retirees, women, or young people, make it fun and easy for people
to get involved. Start a group that doesn’t require someone to give at a leadership
level. You will be amazed by the dollars you are able to raise just by creating
a group that is focused around addressing a specific issue in your community.